Nelly went to Spain with his father, Air Force Man Cornell Haynes Sr., until he was 3 years old, then moved to St. Louis. Nelly's folks struggled financially and split up when he was 7. As the youngest child in the neighborhood he grew up getting into trouble with the big kids. As a result he ended up moving around to live with various family members. He dreamed of playing pro baseball. In high school he formed a group called the St. Lunatics. The group consisted of him and some of his friends (Kyjuan, Murphy Lee, Slo Down, City Spud, and Ali) from high school. Nelly began listening to artists like Rakim, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, OutKast, Goodie Mob, and Jay-Z. He became convinced that his gift for rap could be parlayed into a career. He has his own style of rap which he likes to describe as a jazz form of hip-hop. The first song that Nelly and the St. Lunatics made was Gimmie What You Got. The song "Gimmie What You Got" sold 7,000 units regionally and dominated airwaves, rising to the number one spot on St. Louis' number one hip-hop station. After that song the St. Lunatics encouraged Nelly to go solo and he did. He signed a record deal with Universal Records.
Nelly does not eat meat and is a vegetarian.
(edit)
On February 20, 2007, Nelly was at a post-NBA All-Star party in a Las Vegas strip club, when celebrities began tossing wads of cash into the air. Shots were fired , with three people being critically injured.
(edit)
As of 2004, Nelly's first five albums have gone Platinum a total of 19 times.
(edit)
Nelly attended the same high school, University City Senior High School, as athlete Bernard Gilkey, actors Edgar L. Davis and Leonard Roberts, Disney animator Marlon West, and jazz musicians Peter Martin, Todd Williams, Jeremy Davenport, and Neil Caine
(edit)
Nelly has a deal with Reebok, producing his own signature sneakers "Derrty One".
(edit)
His older sister, Jackie Donahue, lost her 3-year battle with leukemia in March 2005, she was 31 years old.
(edit)
Nelly was featured in Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" issue in 2001 and 2002.
(edit)
Nelly ranked #39 on Entertainment Weekly's 2002 "101 Most Powerful" list.
(edit)
Nelly wore his signature Band-Aid on his cheek in order to express solidarity with his incarcerated brother, Lavell Webb.
(edit)
Nelly was named "Best New Artist" at the 1st Annual BET Awards in 2001.
(edit)
Nelly also has a clothing line called "Vokal".
(edit)
Nelly created his own clothing line for women called "Apple Bottoms".
(edit)
On September 14th, 2004, Nelly bacame the first rap artist to release two albums at the same time, "Sweat" and "Suit".
(edit)
Nelly created "Pimp Juice", a non-carbonated energy drink.
(edit)
Nelly just recently became part owner fo the NBA expansion team, the Charlotte Bobcats.
(edit)
Nelly was once scouted by both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves.
(edit)
Nelly has performed at both the 2001 and 2004 Superbowl's.
(edit)
Nelly is the CEO of his own lable, Derrty Entertainment.
(edit)
Nelly has sold over 30 million singles/albums worldwide establishing him as one of the top sell artists of all time.
(edit)
Nelly sold over a quarter or a million copies of his debut album "Country Grammer" within it's first week of release.
(edit)
In 2000, Nelly was nominated for a Billboard Music Award and an American Music Award.
(edit)
In 2001, Nelly was nominated for 3 Source awards, 2 Grammy's, 2 BET Awards, 2 MTV Awards, 2 Radio Music Awards, and a Blockbuster Award.
(edit)
In 2003, Nelly was nominated for 4 Source awards, 3 Bet Awards, 3 Teen Choice Awards, and an MTV Award.
(edit)
In 2002, Nelly was nominated for 10 Billboard Awards, 5 Grammys, 4 American Awards, 4 Teen Choice Awards, 3 MTV Awards, and a People's choice Award.
(edit)
Nelly is featured in the "Hottest Bachelors" 2006 issue of People magazine.
(edit)
In 2002, Nelly won 2 Grammy Awards.
(edit)
In 2002, Nelly won 6 Billboard Music Awards.
(edit)
As of 2003 Nelly has won 4 Source Awards.
(edit)
Nelly would like to star in his own reality show in order to bring more attention to his non-profit organizations.
(edit)
Nelly had a starring role in the new movie, The Longest Yard. He played Megget. He also performed three songs on the soundtrack for the movie.
(edit)
Performed "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith and Britney Spears at the 2001 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
(edit)
Person Vital Stats
Person
Score: 9.6 Superb 32 votes
Score: 9.6 Superb 32 votes
This content requires Macromedia Flash Player 7 or higher. Get Flash
| Track This Person | |
| Review This Person | Contribute |
